Mr. Chamberlain was present last Saturday at a distribution of
war-medals to members of the Birmingham corps of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade who served with the R.A.M.C. in South Africa, and delivered a short but interest- ing speech. Mr. Chamberlain dwelt on the splendid response made to the call upon the voluntary patriotism of a free people to supplement the deficiencies in the Regular Service. More than two thousand men from the organisation of St. John went to the front, and throughout the campaign carried on the pure work of humanity and gave their assistance indis- criminately to friend and foe alike. He extolled their cheer- fulness, patience, and resolution, and declared that those of their comrades who lost their lives in the discharge of their duties had fallen, in fact, on the field of battle with as much honour as any of. the men who had been killed in the fighting line. Finally, touching on the shameful calumnies on the good faith and honour of the British people and on the humanity of the British Army, he said that his hearers were in a good position to estimate the value of these libels, and to support him in asserting that in no other conflict had a more sincere endeavour been made to minimise the evils of war, and to spare as far as possible the feelings and personal interests of the vanquished. With his remarks on the inevit- able unpreparedness of the nation in coping with such an emergency as that which arose three years ago we deal in another column. We may add in this context that a Parlia- mentary paper was issued on Thursday with regard to the military operations in South Africa. From this it appears that the strength of the garrison on August 1st, 1899, was 9,940, and that between that date and May 31st, 1902, a grand total of 448,435 men were sent to, or raised in, South Africa. The Colonial contingents numbered 30,000, and the troops raised in Africa are estimated at 52,000. Finally, the number killed in action in the period named was 5,744; wounded, 22,829; died of wounds or disease in South Africa, 16,168 ; while a total of 170,356 sick, wounded, and non-invalids had left South Africa for England, India, and the Colonies.
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